Chapter Seven: Cooking
This meal brought the two of them much closer together, to the point that even Zhao Nannan, who never touched alcohol, drank half a glass of red wine.
After dinner, Tian Lei tidied up the kitchen while Zhao Nannan cleaned her own room. Once she was done, Zhao Nannan posted on her social media, briefly explaining why she wouldn’t be going home and suggesting they all get together another time.
She spent the entire afternoon curled up in her room, replying to messages.
At one point, Tian Lei knocked on her door to take her train ticket and briefly mentioned his idea of making a short video with her.
Tian Lei began thinking through the details of the video. The next morning, once Zhao Nannan was ready, they started recording.
With a mask on and her luggage in hand, Zhao Nannan walked through the door. Tian Lei, puzzled, asked, “Aren’t you going home? Didn’t you buy a ticket to return to your hometown?”
“Even if home might be safer, for the sake of my family, I should stay in Wuhan. It’s already confirmed to be transmissible between people, and there’s an incubation period,” Zhao Nannan replied firmly. “Disinfect me!”
On camera, a spray bottle misted disinfectant over her as she spun around and walked further inside. The recording ended there.
“That’s it!” Tian Lei nodded. “Now I just need to edit it.”
“Can I watch?” Zhao Nannan was quite curious; she’d always only seen finished products before, and this was her first time being part of the process.
“Sure!” Tian Lei agreed readily.
They went to Tian Lei’s room, connected the phone to the computer, and he opened the software to start importing the footage. While the phone’s default video apps could do basic editing, they were no match for the paid computer software.
He imported a screenshot of her train ticket into the video as well. At the end, Tian Lei thought for a moment and typed out the words: “When the sky clears, I’ll go home.”
They worked together on the video, which naturally led to more discussions and opinions. By the time they finished uploading it, it was already after four in the afternoon.
“Let’s make New Year’s Eve dinner together, and record a video for your family so they’ll know you’re well,” Tian Lei said, turning to Zhao Nannan after the upload was complete.
“Ah…” The video-making had been quite fun, but as soon as her family was mentioned, a sigh escaped her lips. She still wasn’t sure if staying here was the right decision. “Alright. But I can only cook instant noodles!”
“No problem—just help me out and record some cooking footage. We can use it as material later,” Tian Lei said, unconcerned. The groceries were all bought, and having someone to help this year was already better than previous years.
They moved to the kitchen. Tian Lei opened the fridge. “Is there anything you don’t eat?”
“Huh? No…”
“Supplies are limited, so let’s make six dishes for good luck.”
“Just for us? Isn’t that too much?”
“It’s not. I’ll make smaller portions, and we’ve got dumplings for later in the evening.” Tian Lei opened the freezer and glanced at a bag of frozen celery and pork dumplings inside.
“Record this dish for me,” he said, taking out twenty or so pieces of pre-cut pork ribs and a can of cola.
Seeing Zhao Nannan nod to signal she was recording, he began, “For cola-braised ribs, you need to use lean pork ribs. First blanch them in boiling water to remove impurities, then rinse them in cold water to firm up the meat. That way, the texture will be better…”
Zhao Nannan filmed as Tian Lei prepared each dish. Since they were just recording material, she could ask him cooking questions from time to time. Before they knew it, it was past seven in the evening.